Cancer survivor Kayla Leblond addresses the crowd on Tuesday morning. PHOTO BY TOMMY WONG.
The Sun was shining and not a single cloud could be seen in the sky.
It was the perfect day to host the 22nd annual Trojan Parade for Cancer.
Students and faculty from West Ferris Secondary School walked over from their school and gathered in front of the Kiwanis Waterfront Bandshell to celebrate their fundraising accomplishments.
In the past 22 years, the Trojans have raised more than $226,000.
“It's such an amazing event, ” said Nat Brunette, who has helped organize the event since it began.
“Twenty-two years is an amazing time, but to see the enthusiasm of the students and the community is just outstanding. When you have the community come forward and acknowledge what we do, it's really exciting for the students.”
The event has grown since it first began.
It all started when a student brought up the idea to set up a fundraiser in honor of her grandfather who passed away from Cancer.
“We started in the rain on the back track of West Ferris,” said Brunette.
“And it's expanded to an all-day event here with lots of activities throughout the week.”
This year alone, they were able to present a $1000 cheque to Camp Oochigeas and a $6000 cheque to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Camp Oochigeas is a year round camp located in the Muskoka area and they help young kids and teenagers who are battling with cancer. It's a regular camp and kids from all over Ontario, who is battling with cancer can go there to learn archery, water skiing, attend drama classes and much more.
The best part though, there's a treatment centre there as, well so kid's can have fun and be taken care of.
Kayla Leblond has been to Camp Oochigeas and she is currently a ninth grader at West Ferris.
She was diagnosed with Cancer at the age of six, but she still remembers it like it was yesterday.
“It was very stressful,” stated Kayla after the presentations.
“I was six, so I didn't really know what was going on. And all the doctors around me made me really scared.”
Kayla has been through a lot and her fight with Cancer is simply inspiring..
When she was getting treated, she said other kids would make fun of her and she felt different at the time. But after attending Camp Oochigeas she was able to make friends who she still communicates with on a daily basis.
“Everyone's the same there,” said Kayla.
“So no one judges you and no one cares about what cancer you have so it was really nice.”
Kayla put on a very brave face at the event. No one could ever tell how much she's been through by talking to her.
She exhibited a great attitude and instead of dreading her past experiences, she saw it more as a lesson.
“I've learned that even if life is difficult at that time,” said Kayla.
“It always gets better. There's always going to be bumps in the road, but you can get through them no matter what they are.”
At the end of the day Cancer affects just about everyone and it's an awful experience for anyone involved.
But we can all learn something from Kayla.
Although life can be tough at times, you just have to learn from it and keep pushing foward.
